Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 319 Please come and greet me every day

Daiyu and Tao Xingjian went out together. Daiyu pulled at the corner of Tao Xingjian's sleeve, smiling and muttering non-stop.

It was also about how Sister Liu learned cooking in Suzhou and made the whole family's servants collapse from eating so much, how Chu Kai fooled the Suzhou prefect Wei Jun into trembling with fear, and how he took the King of the North to travel around in circles among the beautiful lakes and mountains in Suzhou.

She kept talking for nearly half an hour. Qingwen couldn't stand it anymore, so she went back and got her a very thick crane cloak to change into, and also got Tao Xingjian a hand warmer.

Tao Xingjian took it, covered his own hands, smiled and praised Qingwen, then pulled Daiyu's crane cloak collar and said in a gentle voice, "Don't worry, don't worry, take your time.

"I can't finish today, I'll come again tomorrow. Now that I'm back and in the palace, are you still afraid that I won't see you?"

Daiyu smiled with her eyes curved, hummed, leaned close to Tao Xingjian's ear, and whispered: "Being able to see my uncle every day is the happiest thing for me since entering the palace!"

Tao Xingjian was stunned: "Every day?"

He can't come here every day!

This is the Taiji Palace, not the Daming Palace. It’s so far away!

Daiyu was surprised: "Since the emperor governs the country with filial piety, how can he not come to pay respects to the Empress Dowager every day? If he comes, you must come too!"

After a pause, he suddenly realized, "I said I didn't see the emperor today!"

Covering her mouth, she asked in a low voice in a fuss, "Doesn't the emperor come here every day?"

Tao Xingjian was speechless.

Should he tell his beloved niece directly: the father-son relationship between the Emperor and the Dowager is just a superficial one. Even the mother-son relationship between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor is just a decree from the Dowager to make her the Empress!

As soon as Daiyu saw his expression, she understood what was going on, and couldn't help but criticize Emperor Zhaoming: Since he has so many tricks to deceive people, why doesn't he use them the other way around!

Because he was holding Tao Xingjian's hand, he spoke in a low voice and at an extremely fast speed, and he was spewing out a bunch of bad ideas!

Tao Xingjian opened his mouth wide and his pupils trembled: "This, this!"

"What's this! This is what I should do!" Daiyu pulled his sleeve and shook it hard!

Tao Xingjian stared at her blankly for a long while, then suddenly raised his hand and tapped Daiyu's forehead: "Let me see if this little head of yours is real? Where did you get all these crazy ideas?"

Daiyu hid with a giggle: "The Queen Mother is happy, and His Majesty is relieved. Isn't this good?"

Tao Xingjian stroked her hair lovingly and nodded, "Our Princess Zhaoqing is right!"

As they were talking, the drum for the night watch sounded.

Qingwen coughed lightly.

Daiyu and Tao Xingjian looked up at the same time and saw that the sky was already dark.

Daiyu reluctantly held onto Tao Xingjian's sleeve and shook him, "Then uncle must come tomorrow morning!"

"Not tomorrow. Didn't the Empress Dowager say that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law from the Shui family would be summoned to the palace early tomorrow morning?" Tao Xingjian stuffed the still warm hand warmer in his hand into Daiyu's.

Daiyu hummed, but after thinking about it, she still couldn't bear to leave, and smiled wickedly with a beaming face: "Just come quietly!

"Anyway, I won't show up! I'll open the back door for you! You can just watch the fun from behind! How do you think?"

Tao Xingjian was delighted: "This is fine!"

The two of them had reached an agreement and then separated.

Before leaving, Daiyu stuffed the hand warmer back into Tao Xingjian's hands.

Tao Xingjian did not refuse. He turned around with a smile and walked back to the Xuanzheng Hall.

Emperor Zhaoming had not slept yet. He was leaning on a newly added couch in the back hall, reading a book. When he saw him coming back, he couldn't help but complain, "It took so long to deliver a message!"

"Aunt Cheng Qian interrupted a few times, and the Queen Mother gave her a few lectures. The princess kept silent. I simply waited until she finished her noodles before coming out.

"The Queen Mother was so gracious that she asked the princess to see me out, so we talked for a while outside."

Tao Xingjian held the hand warmer in his arms like a treasure and did not let go even when he was replying to Emperor Zhaoming.

Emperor Zhaoming saw the hand warmer and raised his eyebrows: "Zhaoqing's?"

"Uh. I don't know if it is. We were talking outside, and Qingwen was afraid that we would be cold, so she gave me one too." Tao Xingjian covered his face with his sleeve.

Emperor Zhaoming said nothing and stretched out his hand towards him.

Tao Xingjian had no choice but to hand over the hand warmer with a resentful look on his face.

Emperor Zhaoming lowered his head and asked him, "What have you been talking about for so long?"

After taking a closer look, he saw that it was an ordinary copper hand warmer, and the pattern engraved on it was also an ordinary Baoxiang flower. He immediately returned it to him, "It must not be Zhaoqing's."

He offered her a seat again: "Pull up a stool and sit down to talk. You've been standing for so long and walked so far, are your legs still okay?"

Tao Xingjian thanked the guest for the meal.

Little Luzi had already eagerly brought a stool over. Tao Xingjian rolled his eyes at him and said, "Get out!"

Little Luzi was serving outside with a pout.

Tao Xingjian then sat down and whispered Daiyu's words one by one without hiding anything.

Emperor Zhaoming listened attentively, his eyes blurred, and he said softly: "It is easy to find manpower in Suzhou, which obviously shows that it is not as rich as it looks on the surface.

“But they were able to gather all the people in the middle of the night, which shows that the economy is indeed prosperous, so they are flexible.

"... Wei Jun is indeed careful. However, if he had not been so careful, he would have become a greedy rat in a place like Suzhou, and Zhaoqing would have looked down upon him.

"…If Shui Rong could be taken around Suzhou by Zhao Qing like this, then either Cao Kuangru's ability to deceive people is too great, or Shui Rong is really not very smart.

"Then it is more believable that he was attacked and kidnapped in a deserted inn."

Tao Xingjian was stunned.

He thought that what Lin Daiyu told him were just some happy little girl's trivial matters, but he never expected that Emperor Zhaoming could actually see through these details!

Emperor Zhaoming looked at his stupid expression and couldn't help but sneer, and then snorted, "Surely Zhaoqing didn't just say these, did he?"

Tao Xingjian's back was covered with cold sweat, and he lowered his head and said, "Yes. When I told the Queen Mother about the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the Shui family, the princess said..."

He described the situation in detail again, even including Tanchun's thoughtful look with a slightly frowned brow.

Emperor Zhaoming chuckled, immediately put down the book in his hand, paced back and forth in the hall, and said with a smile: "Why didn't I think of it!? Humph! As expected, the capital will no longer have to listen to those flies buzzing!"

Tao Xingjian remained silent.

Emperor Zhaoming looked back at him: "Then?"

"Yes. When we were talking outside, the princess mentioned..." Tao Xingjian repeated Daiyu's speech about "ruling the world with filial piety" verbatim, including the series of weird ideas she had come up with.

Emperor Zhaoming was delighted to hear this and laughed, twirling his beard: "Yes, yes, yes! Zhaoqing is absolutely right!

"The sedan chair is carried by people! What's more, His Majesty has given me such great honor before!

"Starting tomorrow, we will go to Taiji Palace to pay our respects to the two saints as soon as we get out of court!"

Tao Xingjian crossed his hands and bowed his head: "Yes!"